The secure storage of valuable articles is a subject of long-standing interest. With the increased use of high value, conveniently-packaged articles of office equipment, the problems of theft have become even more severe than they used to be. For example, office computers and computer components are frequently packaged in rectangular boxes or cases which can readily be carried if they are loose. There exist means to attach such articles to a surface such as a table or a desk top, but there is a demonstrated need for a rack to hold such articles, so the articles can with authorized access readily be removed and replaced. Only the rack itself need be permanently affixed to the surface, instead of the articles themselves. This is much more convenient for installation, uses, removal, and servicing.
Such a rack must be strong enough that it will sufficiently frustrate or discourage unauthorized removal, which means that it must not readily be distorted or parted by means which are likely to be available to the thief. Such rigidity can, of course, be supplied by an extremely rigidly built rack, but such a rack is likely to be very heavy, very costly, not adapted to shipping in a knocked-down configuration, and not adapted to convenient assembly of the user. Thus, its cost is increased by excessive use of materials, costly assembly techniques, and large shipping costs.
It should be kept in mind that a security rack, to be successful, need not be totally impregnable. Instead, it must merely be able to frustrate the thief to the extent that he cannot remove and carry away the article within the relatively short response time inherent in alarm systems. Usually about five minutes from entry to departure is all that a professional thief will count on for his action.
Furthermore, it is not necessary that the security rack be totally rigid. In fact, it is suitable for there to be some deformability, but to the extent that deformability of rack structure is possible, it should result in destruction of the article's value to a fence, i.e., to a middleman who buys and sells stolen equipment. A corollary of this requirement is that there must be sufficient toughness of rack structure that the structure cannot be deformed or separated without having undergone such a change in shape as will have destroyed the value of the article. Then it is pointless for the thief even to start to invade the rack.
It is an object of this invention to provide a suitably strong security rack which can be manufactured with the use of simple and relatively inexpensive manufacturing techniques, which can utilize relatively unsophisticated materials of construction, and which can readily be shipped in a knocked-down configuration, and be easily assembled by the ultimate user, without special tools or skills. The consequence is a tough, reasonably priced, and superior security rack, as compared with previously known security racks.